Deeper League Catcher Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 21

Four Catchers for the Final Stretch I wanted to take the time to follow up on some catchers who are poised to help in our shared quest to get to the promised land. These options could be useful for fantasy managers looking to secure playoff spots in 12+ team leagues.   Travis d'Arnaud - C, New York Mets BALLER […]

Robinson Chirinos (C, TEX) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in Deep AL-Only Leagues or Leagues with Two Catcher Slots ANALYSIS: Heading into the 2014 season, Robinson Chirinos had one career home run and seven RBI with a .189 batting average. Which begs the question: How did this 30-year-old lifelong minor leaguer become the starting catcher for a team that has two […]

Catcher Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 20

Fantasy Baseball Catcher Options This week we'll look at a few different types of fantasy baseball catchers. One was a higher round pick in fantasy drafts, another was a late round flier, and the third is a journeyman catcher that none of you had heard of. All three of these catchers are exceeding their draft day valuations. While […]

Caleb Joseph (C, BAL) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in Deeper Leagues / All Two-Catcher Leagues ANALYSIS: Caleb Joseph may be baseball's hottest hitter, with a home run in five straight games now after Saturday night's game against the Cardinals, making him the most recent add to our waiver wire sleepers list. The 28-year-old rookie is a career .268 hitter in […]

Jason Castro (C, HOU) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add In AL-Only Leagues, Mixed Leagues With Two Catcher Slots ANALYSIS: The 27-year-old catcher Jason Castro has taken a major step back this year after a breakout season in 2013. In 339 at-bats, he has posted just a .230 batting average with 11 home runs and 43 RBI. He is struggling equally against righties and […]

Deep League Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 19: Fantasy Baseball Sleepers

Deep league Waiver Wire Pickups This week’s edition includes a pair of catchers and outfielders. While none of these players will knock your socks off, each has put together a fairly solid season. Take a look, and maybe you will find something that you need to bolster your lineup.   Russell Martin, PIT / Dioner Navarro, TOR […]

Deep League Catcher Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 19

3 Catchers For Deep Leagues This week I wanted to concentrate on backstops that are producing on teams that aren't exactly offensive power-houses. All of these guys are worth a look in most 12+ team leagues, all AL/NL-Only and all 2-Catcher Leagues.   Jason Castro - C, Houston Astros BALLER MOVE: Add in Deep Leagues ANALYSIS: The Astro's have […]

John Jaso (C / DH, OAK) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in AL-Only Leagues, Most Mixed Leagues ANALYSIS: The 30-year-old Jaso has found his place in baseball within Billy Beane's platoon system. He has been playing half his time at DH, the other half behind the dish. Now, with Yoenis Cespedes out of Oakland, things should open up for Jaso to play everyday, […]

Fantasy Baseball Buy / Sell: Hitters To Target In Week 18

Like last week, now is make it or break it time in fantasy baseball. Making drastic and questionable changes to your team is now necessary if you are far behind in the standings. Trading your big name for two or three solid contributors can make a huge impact. Also, continuing to hold on to your […]

Yasmani Grandal (C / 1B, SD) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in NL-Only Leagues, Mixed Leagues with Two Catcher Spots ANALYSIS: After a promising rookie campaign in 2012 in which he belted eight home runs and posted a stellar .394 OBP over 192 at-bats, the once-highly-touted prospect Yasmani Grandal has struggled, not only at the plate, but to stay in baseball, as well. […]

Fantasy Baseball Catcher Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 18

3 Catchers Who Aren't Getting Enough Love Some catchers take longer to earn the respect of fantasy baseball owners than others. Some justifiably so, and some just get overlooked as they emerge as viable sleepers and fantasy producters. But I'm here to take a look at some catchers who may have gotten the cold shoulder, for one reason or […]

Deep League Catcher (C) Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 16

  Catcher Sleepers for the Second Half With all of the home run excitement following the clinic put on Monday night, and the atypically exciting all-star game on Tuesday night featuring MLB's best players, I wanted to focus on some deeper league catcher sleepers that are at the opposite end of the spectrum from those all-star […]

Stephen Vogt (C / OF / 1B, OAK) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in Deeper Leagues / All AL-Only & 2-Catcher Leagues ANALYSIS: Billy Beane's swiss army knife Stephen Vogt has been quietly tearing the cover off the ball the past few weeks, making him the most recent addition to our waiver wire sleepers list. We'll get into the stats shortly, but here's the most important thing to […]

Catcher (C) Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 15

We're now in the thick of week 15, and where do you stand in your league? Do you feel as though nobody's giving you a shot at winning anymore? Maybe a bit forgotten about? Well these sleeper catchers have felt the same way during their careers, and you can both continue to play with a chip […]

Travis d'Arnaud (C, NYM) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 2-Catcher Leagues ANALYSIS: Travis d'Arnaud of the New York Mets had an abysmal season up until June when the team decided to demote him to AAA Las Vegas. While in Las Vegas, he got some of his swagger back and began raking. Granted, Las Vegas is a hitter's league, but when your hitting […]

Yan Gomes (C, CLE) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in Two Catcher Leagues ANALYSIS: Last year Yan Gomes was so good with the bat that the Indians felt comfortable moving Carlos Santana from behind the plate this year to make room for Gomes. Unfortunately, so far this year Gomes has responded by hitting .267/.311/.421 which is no better than OK for […]

Mike Zunino (C, SEA) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in Very Deep Leagues ANALYSIS: The Mariner's decided in spring training to give catcher Mike Zunino a chance to play and show why he was the top catching prospect in the minors last season. He has been just okay so far in 2014. Zunino has shown power and has looked eerily similar to his […]

Derek Norris (C, OAK) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues ANALYSIS: The catcher position is one that is relatively thin when it comes to offensive production. In many cases, Derek Norris is probably an upgrade over your current catcher. He's slashing .302/.405/.509 in 59 games so far this season with 8 HR and 35 RBI, a more-than-respectable state line […]

Wilson Ramos (C, WAS) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14+ Team Leagues ANALYSIS: Wilson Ramos is just coming off of the disabled list and should be on your radar if you have a need behind the plate. In his first game back yesterday he went 2-for-3 with a walk and a run scored. In his 4 game rehab assignment prior to returning Ramos […]

Robinson Chirinos (C, TEX) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 2 Catcher Leagues, Continue Scouting in 1 Catcher Leagues ANALYSIS: Although he doesn't play every day, Ranger's catcher Robinson Chirinos has been hitting very well recently making him an addition to RotoBaller's waiver wire pickups and sleepers list. In two-catcher formats, Chirinos should be owned pretty much across the board at this point. Over the last […]

Alex Avila (C, DET) - Waiver Wire Analysis

BALLER MOVE: Add in Two-Catcher Leagues, AL-Only Leagues (if you're desperate) ANALYSIS: Let's be very honest here for a second - Alex Avila hasn't done squat to warrant him a good fantasy baseball reputation, or a waiver wire pickup, since his one outlier season in 2011 when he hit .295 with 19 HR and 82 runs […]

John Jaso (C, OAK) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in Two-Catcher Leagues ANALYSIS: Look at John Jaso's stats and you understand why the Oakland A's have a rampaging offense.  He has a .276-.369-.457 triple slash line, as a backup catcher and part time DH.  What other backup catcher in the MLB has stats even close to 4 HR, 12 RBI, 16 Runs with […]

Brayan Pena (C, CIN) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in Very Deep Leagues and Two Catcher Leagues ANALYSIS: Brayan who? He's the guy filling in for Devin Mesoraco while he's on the DL. Pena has batted .313 (10-for-32) over the last two weeks with 3 HR and 6 RBI. With Jay Bruce and Mesoraco out and Brandon Phillips still floundering, as long as […]

Welington Castillo (C, CHC) - Waiver Wire Analysis

BALLER MOVE: Add in Two Catcher Leagues ANALYSIS: Only 5% owned in Yahoo! leagues, Castillo will be available in a handful of 2 catcher leagues. He is benefitting from a little BABIP luck, but he's shown in the past that he can hover around .340 which means a .270 BA is attainable.  He has been racking up […]

Carlos Ruiz (C, PHI) - Waiver Wire Analysis

BALLER MOVE: Add in Two Catcher Leagues and Deep Standard Leagues ANALYSIS: Ruiz is only 31% owned in Yahoo! leagues which means he's plenty available even in ~10 team 2 catcher leagues.  Ruiz has racked up 13 hits in his last 8 games, with an impressive 7:2 BB:K ratio, 7 RBI, 4 2B, and 9 runs.  He's […]

Devin Mesoraco (C - CIN) - Waiver Wire Analysis

BALLER MOVE:  Add in Two-Catcher Leagues and 14+ Team Leagues ANALYSIS:  To this point in his career, Devin Mesoraco’s major league service has consisted of sharing catching duties, most recently in 2013, with Ryan Hanigan.  Now that Hanigan is with Tampa Bay, the bulk of the catching duties fall to him.  His major league numbers […]

Miguel Montero (C, ARI) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add Immediately in All Leagues ANALYSIS: Miguel Montero is currently owned in only about 50% of all leagues.  This is alarming low, given the fact that he hits in the middle of a powerful Diamondbacks lineup, and the hot start he's gotten off to. He has started 5 of the first 6 games, hitting in […]

Josmil Pinto (C, MIN) - Waiver Wire Analysis

BALLER MOVE: Continue Scouting, Add in 2 Catcher Leagues ANALYSIS: Pinto put up .342-4-12 in just 76 AB last year. Small sample size blah blah blah.  The point is he has big time potential. We're not expecting him to go .342-20-80 over 500 AB. Far from it.  But we do expect that he'll be ingrained as the […]

Fantasy Sleeper: Nationals Catcher Wilson Ramos

You think you’re tough?  Are you a catcher in MLB?  Probably not.  Have you come back from a torn ACL?  Maybe you have-- it sucks right?  How about being kidnapped in Venezuela in front of your family?  I didn’t think so.  These are just some of the things that make Wilson Ramos, catcher for the […]

Three Undervalued Catchers: 2014 Fantasy Baseball Rankings

In a continuation of my last piece on overrated catchers, now that ESPN has released their early season player rankings, I'll be taking a look at which catchers seem to be underrated by the expert community so far this season.   Brian McCann Steamer Projection: 552 PA, .255/.334/.452, 24 HR, 74 RBI, 68 R, 2 […]